“Should have” is the most useless phrase in the world

We’ve all made mistakes–sometimes horrible choices that screw up our lives for months or years to come. We often confide in other people and try to find a way to clean up the mess. The absolute least helpful thing you or anyone can do is focus on what you did wrong and talk about what you what you “should have” done. What are you supposed to do? Get in your time machine and go back to make the right decision? No! You can’t do that. So what’s the point of beating yourself or others up about what “should have” happened? It’s a waste of time. It also causes you to get stuck in the past when what you really need to do is move into the present and think about the future…and how you can correct the problem. So next time you find yourself worrying about what you “should have” said or done, stop right there and move on to what you are going to do next instead. It’s the only way to keep moving forward!

Don’t let others tell you what you should have done…ask them what happens next instead.